Indie Beats 3-D 'Titanic' at Mainland Box Office

1/4/2013 5:15AM

Chinese comedy "Lost in Thailand" is now the highest-grossing mainland film in history and is the first local production to break the one-billion-yuan ($160.4-million) mark at the box office. The WSJ's Dean Napolitano explains how this small-budget movie outperformed big-budget blockbusters.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... the ... Sts ... you're watching a clip at the low budget Chinese film called lost in Thailand ... beating box office records even being at James Cameron's three D version of the Titanic ... judging me now is Wall Street Journal's demon on time and ... at a deemed aloft in Thailand when isn't all about ... it's days uses a low budget comedy slapstick comedy about two a Chinese colleagues that are competing for some business with but their boss ... who's in Thailand and so they had to Thailand ... and it's a road picture and they're both cut competing to ... sign a contract at an age when it's it's breaking a record it certainly does kind of look a bit silly and the slapstick to be ... at how low of the budget did to maybe have and how much is it really polling in ... this movie was made for less than five million US dollars and in the it's it's been out less than a month in China and it's it's now with the number one ... movie that Chinese movie ... uh hundred and sixty million dollars so it's done gangbusters seemingly ... came out of nowhere ... if you think that it is always that way rates are the ones you least expect that make what's what's the potential here aam ... well I mean I know a lot of Chinese homes do well in particular inside the country ... any attempts to conduct a films like these outside at what are we seeing what's the trend ... it's still a little that too early to see how this film might do outside of China because I don't think anyone had the ... the sense that it would be the huge hit that it was but in China itself it just steamrolled past the competition ... big name actors Chow Yun five Jackie Chan bankable directors ... and or allow ... funk funk show Gong ... this movie just ... just ... flew bets all of those is anyone talking about what the appeal isn't given it was so and get a bit unexpected and what what is the appeal ... well it's a stand out from the other type of movies ever seen this season which are at their historical dramas heavy dramas or ... of martial arts films and here you have it be ... that crazy comedy ... popular actors funny dialogue great I mean it just ... hit the audience at the right time as his date with such big names it seems like Chinese actors or more of a bargain then a male counterparts in the US ... thanks Fran Eckstein expansion is for all and that state added Avista dot com I'm Deborah con for The Wall Street Journal ... on the back